Chapter 1
The second I walked through the door, I saw my wife slap my four-year-old daughter across the face because she said she wanted noodles for dinner. I dropped everything and ran to my child.
My name is Ethan, and we live outside Seattle.
My daughter, Lily, had lost her mother two years earlier.
I married Vanessa believing she would love Lily like her own.
That Tuesday, I came home from work almost an hour early.
Before I opened the door, I heard Lily crying.
“I just want noodles,” she whimpered.
Vanessa snapped, “You’ll eat what I give you.”
Then I heard a sharp slap.
I rushed into the kitchen.
Lily stood beside the table with one hand pressed against her cheek.
Vanessa was standing over her.
“Daddy!”
Lily ran straight into my arms.
I dropped to my knees and held her against my chest.
“What happened?”
“She hit me because I asked for noodles.”
I looked at Vanessa.
She didn’t even apologize.
“She needs to stop acting spoiled.”
“She’s four years old!”
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“You always take her side.”
I stood up slowly, still holding Lily.
Then Vanessa looked at my daughter and said, “This is exactly why nobody can control you.”
Something inside me snapped.
I handed Lily my phone and told her to stay by the front door.
Then I grabbed Vanessa by the hair and pulled her away from my daughter.
She screamed and tried to hit me.
I shoved her against the wall and grabbed her around the neck for a moment before forcing myself to let go.
“Never touch my child again.”
Vanessa stared at me, breathing hard.
Then she suddenly started laughing.
“You think one slap is the worst thing I’ve done?”
My stomach dropped.
Lily began crying behind me.
Vanessa pointed toward the baby monitor camera mounted above the kitchen doorway.
“Go ahead, Ethan.”
“Open the recordings from every Tuesday you worked late.”
I looked down at Lily.
May you like
She immediately hid her face against my leg.
Then she whispered, “Daddy… please don’t watch the basement one.”
